Adjusters

companies use adjusters to negotiate settlements of claims for damages by a policyholder. Adjusters fall into three categories: employees of insurance companies, public adjusters, and independent adjusters. adjusters are employed by insurance companies to evaluate losses and settle claims with policyholders. The adjuster represents the insurance company and seeks to minimize damage costs for the company while maintaining a positive relationship with the insured. The adjuster also gathers information from the insured and collects evidence of the loss in case of future legal actionor intervention by an attorney. Another type of adjuster is the public adjuster. Public adjusters are retained by the insured to negotiate with insurance company. Public adjusters work on behalf of the policyholder and seek to maximize the claim payout for the insured. For his or her services, public adjusters normally receive a portion of the claims settlement.The third type of adjuster is the independent adjuster. Independent adjusters are independent contractors and for multiple insurance companies. Their services are retained by insurance companies who do not employ adjusters, do not have adjusters in a particular geographic area, or need additional adjusters for a disaster.

Adjusting

The process of settling loss with or by an Insurance Buyer.

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US: The process of investigating and settling losses with or by an insurance carrier.

Adjustment

The process of arriving at an amount of settlement for a claim. It may consist of a series of computations to arrive at the amount of a loss, as in a complicated fire loss. It may involve discussions of liability, quantum, and other such matters as might be the case in a problem liability claim. It may contain both.
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MEDICAL, US:

1. Posting an entry to a patient’s financial account to indicate a change to the balance due such as additional payment, partial payment, courtesy adjustment, write off, discount. 2. Change made to correct an error in billing, processing of a claim, or as a result of a retroactive rate change (e.g., late charges for a previously submitted bill). These situations may be found by either claims personnel or by the provider. Possible errors that would allow adjustments to be processed include overpayment, underpayment, or payments to the wrong provider.

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The process of dealing with a claim starting with its investigation and concluding with its settlement or disposal. The work can be carried out by the insurer’s own claims staff or by a loss adjuster.

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The process of determining the cause and amount of a loss, the amount of indemnity the amount of indemnity the insured may recover after all proper allowances and deductions have been made, and the proportions that each Company is required to pay under its contract if there is more than one Insurance Company involved.

Adjustment Bureau

An organization that contracts with insurers to provide loss settlement services on behalf of those insurers.

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Organization for adjusting insurance claims that is supported by insurers using the bureau’s services.

Adjustment premium

An additional premium payable under the terms of the contract as a result of claims experienced under a policy of insurance or reinsurance.

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An additional or return premium that is payable in relation to a deposit premium depending on the performance of an insurance or reinsurance contract.

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The adjustment premium is a further premium payable at the end of a period of cover. This may result from the use of retrospective experience rating or from a situation where the exposure cannot be adequately determined at the start of the period of cover.